Transcript

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>> From Brussels to Washington, officials scrambling to assure the world Thursday that NATO is secure, despite what you might hear coming from Donald Trump. Responding to a question in an interview with the New York Times about whether he would support NATO allies if they were attacked by Russia.

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The 2016 republican nominee responded, conditionally, saying, if they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes. The White House pushing back Thursday, spokesman Josh Earnest stressing that of course the US would honor the bedrock pledge between NATO nations to protect each other from attack.>> The US commitment to that pledge is ironclad.

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The president renewed that commitment just two weeks ago today when he traveled to Warsaw, Poland to attend the NATO summit.>> NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg echoing the White House from across the Atlantic. Saying the pledge of mutual support is a key value for NATO, formed during the Cold War to counter the Soviet Union.

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Jeff Mason says statements like those from Trump make everybody nervous.>> So Mr. Trump's words rattle people and touch a nerve in the international community because the US commitment to NATO has been a part of its foreign policy for democratic and republican administrations for decades. The entire post World War II era has been defined by that committment to NATO.

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The US National Security policy has been defined by that commitment to NATO. So putting that into question raises concerns among European allies and any national security watchers about the US foreign policy as a whole.>> For months, Trump has raised questions about how much money the US pours into NATO, saying the treaty organization needs to be reconfigured to fit the post Cold War world.